The best meteor showers of the century could happen later this month. Here’s what you need to know – teach me about science

Every year, as the Earth revolves around the sun, it collides with the debris of comets and asteroids scattered in space. When these particles come into contact with the atmosphere, they burn up and generate light rays. Meteor showers generally range from 20 to 60 meteors per hour; But this may be a special occasion, although it is uncertain, a meteor storm could be seen in the sky at the end of this month.

Most meteor showers can be expected because they occur annually. This is not the case. Earth will likely pass through a collection of debris from comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 or SW3, but because it is a stellar band and is dense, it is not known exactly whether it will affect the atmosphere until that happens.

If it happens this year, the meteor known as Tau Herculids could light up the sky on the night of May 30-31 with a staggering amount of A thousand meteors an hour. It may be more or less, we can’t know for sure either. The time for this would happen as it coincides with the new moon, which means there will be dark skies and the event will be truly amazing.

If done correctly, the shower could lead to a spectacular “meteor storm”, in which the Earth passes through an especially dense forest of space rock, causing up to 1,000 bright stars per hour, According to the Washington Post. Because there are so many meteors per minute, it is called a “storm” rather than a shower.

Meteor storms occur occasionally, with the number of meteors per hour running into the thousands. Also, when these types of events happen, they don’t last for days, they only last for hours. For example, it is said that the Leonid meteorite becomes a meteor storm every 33 years. But Leonid meteor storms occurred in 1833, 1866, 1867, 1966, 1999, 2001 and 2002, and their activity during these years ranged from 1,000 to about 50,000 meteors per hour, According to Star Walk.

Because of this irregularity is difficult to predict. Same goes for Tau Hercules, if the calculations are correct, there will be a show this year that you only see once in a lifetime. Astronomers and hobbyists move to areas with better conditions just in case. Star Walk says there’s a 90% chance that observers will see at least 600 meteors per hour.

How do you see that (if it happened)? It is expected to peak at 1 a.m. EDT on May 31. Its radiant point is the constellation Bootes the Shepherd, if you do not know where it is, do not worry, because in the event of a meteor shower, it will be very clear that you will notice.

Monitoring Tips: It is recommended to put it in a dark and clear place about half an hour before. Be patient and avoid any contact with light or devices that emit it during that time (eg cell phones); This way your eyes will be primed and you will be able to enjoy the event better.

After that, the most active meteor showers that will definitely occur are the Perseids in August and Geminids in December, they have about 60 meteors per hour.